


dissonance (waiting to be swiftly pulled into tune)

by ftmpeter



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Constellations, Domestic Fluff, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Platonic Cuddling, Stargazing, Tony Stark Lives, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, but other than that it's cute, is there a plot? no one knows, morgan and pepper are side characters, ok maybe for a second
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-25 23:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21364258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ftmpeter/pseuds/ftmpeter
Summary: "I wanna see the stars."
Relationships: Morgan Stark & Peter Parker, Morgan Stark & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 20
Kudos: 110





	dissonance (waiting to be swiftly pulled into tune)

**Author's Note:**

> hi. i haven't posted much for a few weeks because i seem to be, as the kids say, depressed. i've rly been wanting to write, but nothing is sticking. so here is this. i hope it's good. it's kind of a representation of how i wanna feel.
> 
> <3

The words are alight on Peter's lips the moment he arrives at the cabin for the weekend.

"I wanna see the stars."

Tony doesn't stop his stirring - he's attempting to make mac and cheese as a side for dinner, because Morgan kept begging him, and goddamn it, her puppy eyes rival Peter's - but he does shoot him a glance. The kid sits at the kitchen table, backpack tossed carelessly to the left, juice box held to his mouth and hair messier than ever. _God, there's no way he's almost eighteen._ "Nice opening to the conversation, buddy. Really makes me feel like you care about how my day was."

"I was texting you on the way here, and during school, _and_ before that, Mr. Stark," Peter points out. "I'm allowed random conversation starters."

"Maybe so," Tony says, putting the spoon he was using down and heading over to where Peter is. He ruffles his curls, smiling at how they bounce back to where they were. "But for someone who still calls me Mr. Stark, you think they'd be more polite."

Peter blushes.

"I was joking, sheesh," Tony shakes his head. "Okay, so you want to see some stars. Can't you just, like, look up at night? That's kind of how it works."

"That's not what I _meant,_" he groans, dragging out the last word for emphasis. "I _meant,_ we were learning about space stuff in science, and stars, and I realized you don't really get to see them in Queens, because of light pollution and stuff, so I figured out here would be cooler, and.." Peter lets his head drop, suddenly insecure. "Forget it. It was dumb."

Tony immediately wants to kick himself. Jesus, the kid is excited about something, and here he is, a Certified Asshole without even realizing it. "Hey, hey, no. I was being a dick. That's not dumb, okay? I get it."

Peter looks up at him, uncertainty written on his features. "You do?"

"I do," Tony confirms. Inspiration strikes him, then, and he starts to wonder how annoyed Pepper would be with him if he took one of the freshly washed blankets from the dryer.

-

Just a little, apparently, because Pepper smiles when he tells her what it's for. Peter brightens any situation, it seems.

-

The kid spends the rest of the day after their talk playing with Morgan and helping her build some elaborate castle that only she knows the intricacies to, so he doesn't notice when Tony goes down to the lake to set out a blanket, a flashlight, and some comfortable pillows. This was all going to be hell for his back, but being a parent means making certain sacrifices, like losing an arm while saving the world, or forcing down a very good attempt at a birthday cake despite it tasting like cardboard, thank you, Morgan.

Besides, a little back pain is worth it to see the look on Peter's face when he takes him outside a little after the sun sets.

"Oh, man," he breathes. "I - this is - you didn't have to do this, I was just - "

"Kidding? No, you weren't," Tony snorts. It's a beautiful night, windy but in the autumn kind of way that makes you want to stay out for hours. He lowers himself to the ground with minimal grunting. "Sit down, look up, and then tell me you were just kidding."

Peter settles down obediently, looks up at the sky, and promptly gasps. "Oh my God." He sounds like a four year old brought to a candy store, and it's possibly the most endearing thing Tony's ever heard in his life. "They're so - they're so bright! Look, Mr. Stark!"

"I am, kid," he says, amused. He's not really - he knows firsthand how amazing the stars are out here, because he's spent plenty of nights on the porch by himself with nothing but them and his thoughts for company. It's peaceful, and calming, and part of why he chose this house in the first place, but they're not a jaw-dropping sight anymore. The novelty wore off, as it does on most things.

It clearly hasn't for Peter, though, because he's staring at what's above him, looking absolutely blown away.

"I've never seen them so bright before," he says. "Wow, I just - this is _incredible._"

Tony smiles at his enthusiasm. "You know the constellations?"

Peter turns to him, eyes wide. Tony finds it a little hard to find his voice when he sees the way he's looking at him, like he personally went out, hung the stars up for him and him alone.

"No," he admits after a second. "Um, Ben tried - tried to teach me once. I didn't care that much at the time."

It sounds like a normal response, but there's an undercurrent of pain there, a ripple of regret, and it drives Tony to wrap an arm around his shoulders. He gently moves a lock of hair out of his face, so much love and fondness in his chest that it's beginning to physically ache. "Hey. That's okay."

Peter shrugs, going quiet. The sadness goes just as quickly as it came, though, and he straightens considerably. "You should teach me."

So that's what they do for the next thirty minutes, laying down with their backs pressed against the blanket. Peter tucks himself into his side, listening intently to his explanations of the constellations and where they are, the history behind them, what they remind him of.

Tony slowly stops talking midway through a spiel about Cassiopeia, sleepiness taking a hold of him, and Peter doesn't nudge him either. It's not an unpleasant silence - the opposite, actually. It's warm and content. His hand is absently carding through the kid's hair, a habit picked up so long ago it's ingrained into him just as much as anything else.

"Hey, Mr. Stark?"

Tony jumps, pulled back before he could slip into dreamland. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad I'm alive."

He doesn't have to ask what he means. Ever since everything that had happened, Peter's been struggling with it all. Which isn't surprising, not in the slightest - with the amount of things that he's gone through, it's a wonder he's still standing. Tony doesn't know whether to be proud of him or to place him in a pad-locked room where nothing can ever hurt him again.

He looks down at Peter, but the kid's eyes aren't on him this time - they're on the sky, infused with the light of the galaxies. His face is illuminated by the moon, the soft glow of it making him look unreal.

(But he is. He is real, more real than anything else in this life. Against all odds, Peter is real, and so is Tony. Worlds pulled them apart, but fate brought them together again.)

"I'm glad you are too."


End file.
